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Family History May Play Part in Caffeine Addiction
> 12/6/2005 10:02:09 AM

Researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have found that pregnant women with a family history of alcoholism will have a harder time giving up caffeine during their pregnancy.

This is troubling because caffeine use during pregnancy has been linked to problems such as reduced fetal growth and miscarriage.

It appeared that although most women eliminated or substantially reduced their caffeine consumption between pregnancy awareness and their first prenatal visit, those with a lifetime diagnosis of caffeine dependence and a family history of alcoholism had higher levels of caffeine use and lower rates of abstinence throughout pregnancy.

Withdrawal symptoms, functional impairment, and craving were cited as reasons they failed to eliminate or cut back on caffeine use.

It was found that as many as fifty percent of the women with both a lifetime diagnosis of caffeine dependence and a family history of alcoholism continued to use caffeine in amounts greater than those considered safe during pregnancy, compared to none of the women without caffeine dependence and a family history of alcoholism.

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